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3,752 Posts & 2,349 Pages Documenting Dragon Ball, since 1998. We've got you covered!
Published by 28 January 2024, 6:02 PM ESTComment

In conjunction with this weekend’s “DRAGON BALL Games Battle Hour 2024” event, Bandai Namco has announced the third and final downloadable content pack within the second season pass — and sixth overall — for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, covering the 28th Tenka’ichi Budōkai (and thus the end of the original manga serialization’s content):

The downloadable content pack’s title in Japanese is “And So, After 10 Years” (そして10年後 Soshite Jūnengo); as with the previous Bardock and 23rd Tenka’ichi Budōkai DLC packs, its title is a direct nod to a prior work’s title, in this case being the exact same title as Dragon Ball manga chapter 518. The English localization will instead sport a title of “Goku’s Next Journey“.

Though the trailer simply notes the DLC pack is coming soon, Bandai Namco’s YouTube description pegs the release date as sometime in February 2024.

Developed by CyberConnect2 for Bandai Namco, the action role-playing game released 16 January 2020 in Japan and 17 January 2020 internationally on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (via Steam). A Nintendo Switch edition came later in September 2021.

Reviews of the base game, Trunks DLC, Bardock DLC, and 23rd Tenka’ichi Budōkai DLC can be found on episodes #0481, #0490, #0497, and #505, respectively, of our podcast.

Published by 18 January 2024, 10:27 AM ESTComment

Following up on previous chapters, Shueisha and Viz have added the official English translation of the Dragon Ball Super manga’s 101st chapter to their respective Manga Plus and Shonen Jump services, continuing onward into the brand-new “Super Hero arc”.

After three chapters worth of original prologue material, the manga version of the arc covered the full events of the respective film, and has now transitioned into even more original story content.

Alongside other initiatives including free chapters and a larger archive for paid subscribers, this release continues the companies’ schedule of not simply simultaneously publishing the series’ chapter alongside its Japanese debut to the release date, but to its local time in Japan alongside its serialization in today’s March 2024 issue of Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine.

The Dragon Ball Super “comicalization” began in June 2015, initially just ahead of the television series, and running both ahead and behind the series at various points. The manga runs in Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine, with the series’ one-hundred-first chapter hitting today in the magazine’s March 2024 issue.

Illustrated by “Toyotarō” (in all likelihood, a second pen-name used by Dragon Ball AF fan manga author and illustrator “Toyble”), the Dragon Ball Super manga covered the Battle of Gods re-telling, skipped the Resurrection ‘F’ re-telling, and “charged ahead” to the Champa arc, “speeding up the excitement of the TV anime even more”. Though the television series has completed its run, the manga continues onward, moving into its own original “Galactic Patrol Prisoner”, “Granolla the Survivor”, and now “Super Hero” arcs.

Viz is currently releasing free digital chapters of the series, and began their own collected print edition back in 2017. The company’s twentieth collected volume is set for release in February 2024.

The Dragon Ball Super television series concluded in March 2018 with 131 total episodes. Crunchyroll (by way of the merger with FUNimation) owns the American distribution license for the series, with the English dub having wrapped its broadcast on Cartoon Network, and the home video release reaching its tenth and final box set in 2020. A complete steelbook “Limited Edition” was released by Crunchyroll last year.

Published by 09 January 2024, 1:26 PM ESTComment

The September 2021 issue of Shueisha’s Saikyō Jump magazine kicked off a “Dragon Ball Super Gallery” series in commemoration of the Dragon Ball franchise’s upcoming 40th anniversary. The celebration aims to have different artists all contribute their own spin on the original 42 tankōbon covers, with the images and an accompanying comment published as the magazine’s back cover.

Following the previous twenty-nine entries, this month’s February 2024 issue brings us Yusuke Murata (Eyeshield 21, One Punch Man) and their take on the series’ 12th volume cover:

Murata commented:

“While obediently following his masters’ teachings, Goku seeks to win the Tenka’ichi Budōkai. After training hard, he then enters and wins the tournament, and, in so doing, ends up defeating Demon King Piccolo, saving the Earth from his designs on world domination.” This is the plot of the first half of Dragon Ball (right before the Saiyan arc). Even with just the plot, don’t you think the fun of Goku’s unassuming nature — being somehow laid-back despite being insanely strong — comes right out? He manages to defeat the Demon King, who’s trying to destroy the world, all without actually breaking the tournament rules. That’s what’s so great about him. Since he’s so strong, he ends up prioritizing things other people don’t. This might be what “being above it all” is all about, in the end. And this might be the same attitude that characterizes Toriyama-sensei himself, someone who created an international mega-hit while famously thinking things like, “I wanna get this manuscript over with so I can go build more plastic model kits!” or “inking his hair black all the time is a pain, so I’m just gonna make Super Saiyan have white hair.” And this isn’t limited limited to just manga – “the person” shows through in anything one makes. If you want to make a comic this thrilling, then you first need to be a thrilling person yourself. That’s how I see it.

By “white hair,” Murata is of course referring to the original black-and-white comic incarnation of Dragon Ball. Toriyama — and a variety of other staff associated with the franchise — have often told the story of how removing the necessity of inking in Goku’s hair for the Super Saiyan transformation was as much a time-saving decision as anything else.

Saikyō Jump is currently a monthly magazine published in Japan by Shueisha under the “Jump” line of magazines. The magazine began as a quarterly publication in 2012, went monthly in 2013, went bimonthly in late-2014, and returned to a monthly format in 2021 (including a digital release for the first time). The magazine’s focus is spin-off and supplementary manga series aimed at a young audience, while also including game promotions, news coverage, and more. The magazine currently serializes content such as Yoshitaka Nagayama’s Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Meteor Mission! manga series and Yūji Kasai’s Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Avatars!! manga series. For calendar year 2019, Shueisha reported Saikyō Jump‘s circulation down at 130,000, with readership as 58.5% upper elementary school, 28% lower middle school, 11% middle school, and 2.5% high school or older.

Published by 24 December 2023, 5:35 PM ESTComment

Each month, Toyotarō provides a drawing of a Dragon Ball (or related…!) character — as well as an accompanying comment — on the official Japanese Dragon Ball website. Following up on the wealth of characters already drawn, for his November and Devember 2023 catch-up entry, Toyotarō has drawn Akkuman from Dragon Ball… and Ackman from Go! Go! Ackman:

Akkuman

One of the warriors working for the Fortuneteller Crone. It’s kinda fun to think what would have happened if he used his Akumite Beam on the villains that appeared after him!

Ackman (Go! Go! Ackman)

This is the Ackman that Toriyama-sensei featured in a V-Jump series back in the day!

Both characters’ names are spelled as アックマン in Japanese, with “Akkuman” and “Ackman” both being legitimate transliterations of the name (which is a play on 悪魔 akuma meaning “demon” or “devil” and the English word “man”).

Akkuman appeared during the Fortuneteller Crone arc of Dragon Ball, while Ackman is the titular character of Akira Toriyama’s Go! Go! Ackman manga series, which ran from the July 1993 to October 1994 issues of Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine (and was later collected in 1997’s Akira Toriyama’s _____piece Theater, Vol. 3).

This drawing and comment set has been added to the respective page in our “Translations” archive.

Published by 24 December 2023, 1:50 PM ESTComment

Show Description

Episode #0508! Mike brings on Ken and Ajay for an all-Daima extravaganza! We break down all the scenes in the debut Dragon Ball Daima trailer, trying to figure out who all is involved and what Toriyama may have in store for us, as well as dive into all the currently-announced production staff. We’re still a long ways off from actually seeing the show, but they certainly have our interest at this early stage!

How to Listen

Our podcast is available via Apple Podcasts and/or Google Podcasts, or you can pop the direct RSS feed into the program of your choice. You can also listen to this episode by directly downloading the MP3 or by streaming it on Spotify, or YouTube. We invite you to discuss this episode on our forum.

 

Referenced Sites:

Published by 20 December 2023, 10:45 AM ESTComment

Following up on previous chapters, Shueisha and Viz have added the official English translation of the Dragon Ball Super manga’s one-hundredth chapter to their respective Manga Plus and Shonen Jump services, continuing onward into the brand-new “Super Hero arc”, now adapting the contents of the recent theatrical film following three chapters worth of original prologue material. Alongside other initiatives including free chapters and a larger archive for paid subscribers, this release continues the companies’ schedule of not simply simultaneously publishing the series’ chapter alongside its Japanese debut to the release date, but to its local time in Japan alongside its serialization in today’s February 2024 issue of Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine.

The Dragon Ball Super “comicalization” began in June 2015, initially just ahead of the television series, and running both ahead and behind the series at various points. The manga runs in Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine, with the series’ one-hundredth chapter hitting today in the magazine’s February 2024 issue.

Illustrated by “Toyotarō” (in all likelihood, a second pen-name used by Dragon Ball AF fan manga author and illustrator “Toyble”), the Dragon Ball Super manga covered the Battle of Gods re-telling, skipped the Resurrection ‘F’ re-telling, and “charged ahead” to the Champa arc, “speeding up the excitement of the TV anime even more”. Though the television series has completed its run, the manga continues onward, moving into its own original “Galactic Patrol Prisoner”, “Granolla the Survivor”, and now “Super Hero” arcs.

Viz is currently releasing free digital chapters of the series, and began their own collected print edition back in 2017. The company’s twentieth collected volume is set for release in February 2024.

The Dragon Ball Super television series concluded in March 2018 with 131 total episodes. Crunchyroll (by way of the merger with FUNimation) owns the American distribution license for the series, with the English dub having wrapped its broadcast on Cartoon Network, and the home video release reaching its tenth and final box set in 2020. A complete steelbook “Limited Edition” was released by Crunchyroll last year.

Published by 07 December 2023, 9:18 PM ESTComment

Previously announced — back in March! — as the next entry in the Sparking! series of video games, Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO was more formally unveiled with a new trailer tonight during The Game Awards.

Characters showcased included Son Goku (normal, Super Saiyan Blue), Vegeta (normal, Super Saiyan Blue), Freeza (final form), Broli (Wrathful, Super Saiyan), Piccolo, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Trunks (Super Saiyan from both Z and Super), No. 17, No. 18, Cell (Perfect), Mr. Satan, Boo (Good), Bergamo, and Jiren.

The trailer’s final screen confirmed that the series’ original developer, Spike Chunsoft, is back at the helm, and the game will be released internationally for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam). The official Japanese Twitter account later clarified that the Steam reference for Japan was published in error, and that the domestic release will only include the PlayStation 5, as well as digital versions for the Xbox Series X|S.

An official Japanese website has opened at: dbsz.bn-ent.net

Both the official Japanese website — プレイ人数1人 (オンライン時 1~2人) — as well as online retailers in English appear to indicate that the game is locally playable by a single user only, with online play extending to player-vs-player battles.

Bandai Namco also later shared a press release regarding the game:

DRAGON BALL: SPARKING! ZERO IS THE EARTH-SHAKING SEQUEL BRINGING THE BUDOKAI TENKAICHI SERIES TO A NEW GENERATION
December 7, 2023

Shake the Earth, Break the Heavens in the latest Dragon Ball Game, Bringing Back the Beloved Arena Brawler Series after more than 15 years

  • DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO brings back the revered 3D action battle game series previously known as BUDOKAI TENKAICHI in the West
  • Arriving on new-gen consoles and PC, this is the first entry in the series since BUDOKAI TENKAICHI 3 released in 2007 on PlayStation®2
  • Engage in exhilarating battles with exceptional visual fidelity, fighting arenas with destructible environments, and an incredible roster of DRAGON BALL fighters
  • See the explosive announcement trailer here

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. blasted global audiences with a Kamehameha by announcing DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO – the first entry to the DRAGON BALL Z: BUDOKAI TENKAICHI series in more than years – at The Game Awards. The debut trailer, which showcased in-game footage, revealed a visually stunning, authentic continuation of the BUDOKAI TENKAICHI series alongside faithful recreations of legendary characters and their special powers as they fight epic battles on massive and destructible fighting arenas. DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is coming exclusively to PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam®. For more information, visit https://www.bandainamcoent.com/.

Developed by Spike Chunsoft, the developers behind the original BUDOKAI TENKAICHI series, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO brings the series forward to a new era by harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 5 and pushing the envelope for gameplay and features in an arena brawler. DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO also brings the franchise back to the original Japanese naming convention, where the original DRAGON BALL Z: BUDOKAI TENKAICHI was titled DRAGON BALL Z: Sparking!

“This is the DRAGON BALL fighting game players have been waiting for, bringing a new sequel for one of the most beloved game series based on the franchise to a new generation of players,” said Mike Chang, VP, Marketing and Digital Business, Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. “It has been more than 15 years since DRAGON BALL Z: BUDKAI TENKAICHI pioneered arena brawlers, and DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO continues the legacy while adding new genre-defining features made possible only with the latest game platforms to deliver one of the most immersive anime game experiences of all time.”

The game’s gravity-defying fights promise to ‘shake the earth, break the heavens’, with each DRAGON BALL character’s signature destructive powers and Ki abilities showcased in stunning detail with damage capable of destroying entire parts of the arena.

Though the trailer included text stating “A New Budokai Tenkaichi Begins,” the game’s seemingly final title was revealed at the end as Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO, falling more in line with the original trilogy’s naming scheme in Japanese. The three Sparking! games — the original, NEO!, and METEOR — hit the PlayStation 2 over the course of 2005 to 2007, with the Nintendo Wii also receiving ports of the second and third games. The game series was released numerically under the “Budokai Tenkaichi” moniker internationally. A fourth games — Tag Vs. in Japan / Tenkaichi Tag Team internationally — was released on the PlayStation Portable in 2010.

As opposed to the completely separate Dragon Ball Z (“Budokai”) series developed by Dimps which came before it, the Sparking! series — developed instead by Spike — featured 3D arenas with an over-the-shoulder camera angle.

Spike (as Spike Chunsoft) later went on to also develop the crossover fighting games J-Stars Victory VS in 2014 and Jump Force in 2019.

Published by 07 December 2023, 1:58 PM ESTComment

The September 2021 issue of Shueisha’s Saikyō Jump magazine kicked off a “Dragon Ball Super Gallery” series in commemoration of the Dragon Ball franchise’s upcoming 40th anniversary. The celebration aims to have different artists all contribute their own spin on the original 42 tankōbon covers, with the images and an accompanying comment published as the magazine’s back cover.

Following the previous twenty-eight entries, this month’s January 2024 issue brings us Sui Ishida (Tokyo Ghoul) and their take on the series’ 8th volume cover:

Sui Ishida commented:

Not even in my dreams did I ever think I would get to participate in a project like this! What an honor.

Even I, who didn’t read a lot of manga back in primary school, remember copying drawings of the Kamehameha in my notebook. After becoming a mangaka, I went to exhibitions of Toriyama-sensei‘s artwork, and even already as an adult, I still got really excited by each and every page of his illustrations. I remember being really moved. Congratulations to Dragon Ball on its 40th anniversary!

Saikyō Jump is currently a monthly magazine published in Japan by Shueisha under the “Jump” line of magazines. The magazine began as a quarterly publication in 2012, went monthly in 2013, went bimonthly in late-2014, and returned to a monthly format in 2021 (including a digital release for the first time). The magazine’s focus is spin-off and supplementary manga series aimed at a young audience, while also including game promotions, news coverage, and more. The magazine currently serializes content such as Yoshitaka Nagayama’s Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Meteor Mission! manga series and Yūji Kasai’s Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Avatars!! manga series. For calendar year 2019, Shueisha reported Saikyō Jump‘s circulation down at 130,000, with readership as 58.5% upper elementary school, 28% lower middle school, 11% middle school, and 2.5% high school or older.

Published by 22 November 2023, 4:46 PM ESTComment

This week’s January 2024 issue of Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine revealed key staff for the upcoming show, Dragon Ball Daima:

  • Akira Toriyama: original author, story, character designs [previously announced]
  • Masako Nozawa: voice of Son Goku [previously implied]
  • Yoshitaka Yashima: series co-director
  • Aya Komaki: series co-director
  • Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru: character designs [adapted for animation from Toriyama’s designs]
  • Yūko Kakihara: series composition/script

Yoshitaka Yashima was extensively involved with the Dragon Ball Super television series, handling a wealth of storyboards, key animation, and animation supervision; Yashima is also responsible for work on a plethora of other franchises. As with Yashima, Aya Komaki is well known for her work on the One Piece franchise, including both its television series and recent theatrical film, One Piece Film: Red. Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru is no stranger to the Dragon Ball franchise, with character design, animation, and promotional artwork duties dating back to its original serialization heyday. Yūko Kakihara is responsible for the script writing on a variety of recent shows, including Digimon Adventure tri.

Dragon Ball Daima is an upcoming animated series, though no specific debut timeframe beyond “fall 2024” or release/broadcast platform has been announced. The series was first revealed at New York Comic Con in October 2023 by way of a trailer and comment from original franchise creator Akira Toriyama. The “Daima” in the series’ title is a made-up term, though the individual kanji that make up its spelling would be 大魔; in Toriyama’s own words, …”in English would be something like ‘Evil.'”

Published by 20 November 2023, 11:51 AM ESTComment

Following up on previous chapters, Shueisha and Viz have added the official English translation of the Dragon Ball Super manga’s ninety-ninth chapter to their respective Manga Plus and Shonen Jump services, continuing onward into the brand-new “Super Hero arc”, now adapting the contents of the recent theatrical film following three chapters worth of original prologue material. Alongside other initiatives including free chapters and a larger archive for paid subscribers, this release continues the companies’ schedule of not simply simultaneously publishing the series’ chapter alongside its Japanese debut to the release date, but to its local time in Japan alongside its serialization in today’s January 2024 issue of Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine.

The Dragon Ball Super “comicalization” began in June 2015, initially just ahead of the television series, and running both ahead and behind the series at various points. The manga runs in Shueisha’s V-Jump magazine, with the series’ ninety-ninth chapter hitting today in the magazine’s January 2024 issue.

Illustrated by “Toyotarō” (in all likelihood, a second pen-name used by Dragon Ball AF fan manga author and illustrator “Toyble”), the Dragon Ball Super manga covered the Battle of Gods re-telling, skipped the Resurrection ‘F’ re-telling, and “charged ahead” to the Champa arc, “speeding up the excitement of the TV anime even more”. Though the television series has completed its run, the manga continues onward, moving into its own original “Galactic Patrol Prisoner”, “Granolla the Survivor”, and now “Super Hero” arcs.

Viz is currently releasing free digital chapters of the series, and began their own collected print edition back in 2017. The company’s twentieth collected volume is set for release in February 2024.

The Dragon Ball Super television series concluded in March 2018 with 131 total episodes. Crunchyroll (by way of the merger with FUNimation) owns the American distribution license for the series, with the English dub having wrapped its broadcast on Cartoon Network, and the home video release reaching its tenth and final box set in 2020. A complete steelbook “Limited Edition” was released by Crunchyroll last year.